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Salem witch trials

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Painting depicting the Salem Witch Trials.

Did the Witch Trials Ever Truly Come to an End?

Marion Gibson’s research rigorously traces the legal and human aspects of the trials through today.
by AX Mina via Hyperallergic on October 30, 2024
Haitan commuinty members bowing their heads in prayer.

The Coming Witch Trials

It’s time to care for the community—not cleanse it.
by Adam Jortner via Current (religion and democracy) on October 22, 2024
A crowd of people in court during the Salem Witch Trials.

How Dogs Were Implicated During the Salem Witch Trials

Sometimes an accused witch was believed to have had a dog who would do her bidding; to others, the devil appeared in the form of a dog.
by Bridget Marshall via The Conversation on October 15, 2024
A crowd of tourist superimposed over images of Salem attractions and a cemetery.

Salem’s Unholy Bargain: How Tragedy Became an Attraction

Is the cost worth the payoff?
by Lex Pryor via The Ringer on October 30, 2023
Thomkins H. Matteson's painting of George Jacobs' witchcraft trial in 1855

The Salem Witch Trials Actually Happened in Danvers, Massachusetts

Tensions between Salem and Danvers were there from the start—contributing to the ensuing witch hysteria.
by Theresa McKinney via Atlas Obscura on October 26, 2023
Illustration of the Salem Witch Trials, with a "witch" appearing to levitate books

My Witch-Hunt History, and America's: A Personal Journey to 1692

Revisiting America's first witch hunt — and discovering how much of it was a family affair. My family, that is.
by Andrew O'Hehir via Salon on July 4, 2021
Salem witch trials

An Embarrassment of Witches

What's the real history behind Trump's 'witch hunt' tweets?
by Mary Beth Norton via Perspectives on History on April 10, 2018
Drawing of lightning breaking the chains of a woman on trial for witchcraft in Salem.

The Actual 'Single Greatest Witch Hunt of a Politician' in American History

It happened long before a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. 
by Mary Beth Norton, Yasmeen Serhan via The Atlantic on May 18, 2017
Drawing of lightning breaking the chains of a woman on trial for witchcraft in Salem.

The Single Greatest Witch Hunt in American History, for Real

Wild accusations, alternative facts, special prosecutors—the Salem witch trials of 1692 had it all.
by Stacy Schiff via The New Yorker on May 18, 2017
Portrait of justice Samuel Sewall

Affable, He Convicted Salem Innocents

In a novelized biography of Samuel Sewell, a greater mystery than what bedeviled the girls is what motivated a righteous man to condemn them for witchcraft.
by Stacy Schiff via New York Review of Books on February 16, 2017
Harvard University "veritas" seal displayed on flags on its campus.

Harvard Stood Up to Trump. Too Bad the School Wasn’t Always So Brave.

The university’s last “finest hour” was more than 200 years ago.
by Timothy Noah via The New Republic on April 16, 2025
A painting of a group of Puritans walking through a snowy forest, with the men carrying rifles.

The Puritans Were Book Banners, But They Weren’t Sexless Sourpusses

From early New England to the present day, censors have acted out of fear, not prudishness.
by Peter C. Mancall via Zócalo Public Square on November 25, 2024
An old, crumbling Victorian house with figures from horror, including Toni Collette in Hereditary, a zombie, Edgar Allen Poe, and Stephen King.

American Horror Stories

It just might be the great American art form. You can thank the residents of Salem for that.
by Laura J. Miller via Slate on October 19, 2024
Map of John Proctor's 15 acres of property in Ipswich, MA

"The Crucible" and John and Elizabeth Proctor of Salem

It is worth digging a bit deeper into the family matters between John and Elizabeth.
by Benjamin Ray via Commonplace on February 7, 2023
Drawing of the hanging of a woman accused of witchcraft.

The Historical Truth About Women Burned at the Stake in America? Most Were Black.

Most Americans probably don’t know this piece of Black history. But they should.
by Kali Nicole Gross via Washington Post on February 25, 2022
A witch's hat and crooked stick, with the words "rags to witches"

Has Witch City Lost Its Way?

They’re hip, business-savvy, and know how to cast a spell: How a new generation of witches and warlocks selling $300 wands conquered Salem.
by Kathryn Miles via Boston Magazine on October 22, 2021
Graphic of Earth surrounded by red and white squiggles

What Is the Most Damaging Conspiracy Theory in History?

"What makes this conspiracy theory so damaging is its adaptability."
by Christine Caldwell Ames, David G. Robertson, Daniel Kolitz, Jennifer Rice, Joseph Parent, Sara Lipton, Peter Knight via Gizmodo on July 12, 2021
Cover of "Speaking with the Dead in Early America" by Erik R. Seeman

Speaking with the Dead in Early America

A new book recovers the many ways Protestant Americans, especially women, communicated with the dead from the 17th century to the rise of séance Spiritualism.
by Erik Seeman via The Junto on December 9, 2019
Woman being struck by lightning in front of shocked judge and crowd at the Salem Witch Trials.

Most Witches are Women, Because Witch Hunts Were All About Persecuting the Powerless

We use the term "witch hunt" to describe baseless accusations. It's actually about targeting those without power.
by Bridget Marshall via The Conversation on October 23, 2019
Harvey Weinstein
partner

No, There Is No Witch Hunt Against Powerful Men

They're the hunters, not the hunted.
by Michelle D. Brock via Made By History on October 18, 2017
Woman being struck by lightning at Salem Witch Trials
partner

American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural

On the occasion of Halloween, an exploration of previous generations' fascination with ghosts, spirits, and witches.
via BackStory on October 30, 2015
Woodcut illustration of "Witches Apprehended" showing the water test accused witches would undergo. Stamford has its own history of witch trials.

Haunted Stamford: 1692 Witch Trial

In the same year as the Salem Witch Trials, a more common and lesser known witch hunt occurred in Stamford, Connecticut.
by Maggie Gordon via Stamford Advocate on October 31, 2013

The Middle Hutchinson: Elisha, 1641-1717

By leading the risky but eventually successful financial operation, Elisha justified his name.
by Dror Goldberg via Commonplace on April 4, 2023
A lithograph depicting the burning of copies of William Pynchon’s 'The Meritous Price of Our Redemption' by early colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who saw his book as heresy.

He Wasn’t Like the Other New England “Witches.” His Story Explains a Lot.

The little-told tale of the 1651 trial of Hugh and Mary Parsons.
by Colin Dickey via Slate on October 31, 2022
A picture of an eerie dark house.

This House Is Still Haunted: An Essay In Seven Gables

A spectre is haunting houses—the spectre of possession.
by Adam Fales via Dilettante Army on February 15, 2022
Smiling porcelain salt and pepper shaker figures called "the Pilgrim Pair," and their children, "Lilgrims," atop two academic books about Puritan history entitled "The Barbarous Years" and "Seasons of Misery."

Come On, Lilgrim

The gap between academic and popular understandings of early American topics is an enduring challenge for early Americanists.
by Jonathan Beecher Field via Commonplace on December 16, 2015
People posing with a large stack of wooden barrels

The Night Before the Fourth

The great bonfires of Gallows Hill—and what they tell us about America.
by Yoni Appelbaum via The Atlantic on July 1, 2011

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